Judge Rules Felony Child Porn Charges Can Proceed

There is probable cause for prosecutors to move forward with felony child pornography charges against the owner of Arunothai on Broad Street, according to a ruling by District Court Judge Joseph P. Ippolito.

The Providence Journal reported that Ippolito reached his decision in a nine-page ruling in response to a request by Arunothai Asawabowornan, 33, who is accused of making a sexually explicit recording of an 8-year-old and posting it on the internet, to “test the viability” of the felony charges.

The charges after an investigation by State Police.

Police said Asawabowornan, of 319 Indiana Ave., Providence, became the target of the investigation after the ICAC Task Force/Computer Crimes Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children based on a video that contained images of child pornography that had been uploaded to the Internet from an email address in Providence.

Detectives executed several search warrants to Internet service providers which showed the e-mails had been sent from 319 Indiana Ave. They also led to police obtaining additional e-mails of the same child depicted in even more pornographic images and videos. 

Those pictures and videos were sent to individuals in foreign countries, police said, prompting the involvement of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent. 

Police said the on-scene investigation "confirmed Ms. Asawabowornan inappropriately photographed the child, posted the images and videos on the internet, and emailed the images to individuals in foreign countries."

 “This investigation demonstrates how disturbing these cases can be and the importance of the cyber crimes unit. Quick communications with all the stakeholders is vital to ensure the safety of victim,” said State Police Superintendent Col. Brendan P. Doherty.

Asawabowornan pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on $1,000 surety bail. She is prohibited from using the Internet or having unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 as a condition fo release.

The case will now be taken up by a grand jury.